I cannot believe an entire month on the World Race has already come and gone. We were so incredibly blessed by the ministry contacts we had. They have an unbelievable story! It shows the lengths to which God will go to reach His people in every nation. I 100% believe God is the center of their ministry and their lives. Noom grew up in an Isaan village and Karis met him several years ago when they were both working with YWAM. Before she had even met him, God had given her a heart for these people and it was amazing to see how God brought them together to make their ministries even more effective. They are currently discipling four young men who live with them at their home and training them through worship, music, outreach, and study how to be lead their own people to God.
There are currently only about 350,000 Christians in ALL of Thailand.
The country’s population is around 66 million.
The percent of believers among the Isaan people is about .05%.
But God has BIG plans for these people and they have no clue what power-house prayer warriors are living amongst their ranks!! J Please visit their blog www.heartofisaan.blogspot.com to hear their heart and learn specifics of how to pray for their ministry.
All of that being said, our first month of ministry was AMAZING! God stretched our mental and physical limits. He tested our spiritual composition and He is continually going to do so in new ways throughout the rest of our lives. There will always be something new to discover about Him, and in turn, ourselves. One main thing I really felt God speaking to me was that His gospel doesn’t need my words. I love words. I love putting them together. I love looking up my dictionary.com app’s “word of the day”. So journaling and blogging are wonderful outlets for me! But when I was trying to prepare a sermon to share, realizing that half of it would be lost in translation, I realized the truth of what Paul was saying in 1 Corinthians 1:17, “For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News- not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.” and again in chapter 2:1-2…”When I came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, and him crucified…”
God’s truth doesn’t need our words. While I know God has given me a joy and delight in words and there can be ministry in that, I also have realized that the power in his NAME alone is enough to break down barriers. Ezekiel 3:10 says,
“Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself.”
God is moving here and I often process through words, but pray that it doesn’t stop there. Pray that He continues to make it go deeper so that the evidence of what He’s done isn’t just on my lips, it’s in my soul.
On a lighter note, after no sleep followed by a 7 hour pick up truck ride (beginning at 4am) with 10 people sitting on 6 people’s crap…. we’re here! We arrived yesterday to Siem Reap, Cambodia and met up with the squad. We were INCREDIBLY blessed by the testimonies of what God has done through the other teams! It really teaches you the value of living in community…I was so strengthened just by hearing what God has done in them! And also, the World Race surprised us with a nice hotel (beds, HOT showers, good food) for two nights before we break off again to our various ministry sites. I am so looking forward to this month and what it holds, even while leaving a piece of my heart in Thailand.
Thank you for your ongoing words of encouragement and prayers!
“Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work.” Isaiah 62:6-7
